CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Meeting: February 19, 2024
Subject
Zoning Map Amendment to correct zoning for Priority Housing Site No. 24 in the 6th Cycle Housing Element (Application No.(s): Z -2024-001, EA -2024-001; Applicant:
City of Cupertino; APN: 359 13 019; Location: 20865 McClellan Road) Recommended Action
Introduce and conduct the first reading of Ordinance No. 25 -XXXX titled “ An Ordinance of the City Council o f the City o f Cupertino Correcting t he Zoning o f a Priority Housing Element Site Located at 20865 McClellan Road From R-3 to R-3/TH to Ensure Consistency with the General Plan And Housing Element” Reasons for Recommendation
Background
The City Council adopted the 6th Cycle Housing Element 1, which covers the planning period of 2023 to 2031, on May 14, 2024. The Housing Element is a required element of Cupertino’s General Plan and identifies policies and programs and prospective housing sites to meet the housing needs of the City’s current and future residents at all income levels , through 2031 . The 6 th Cycle Housing Element anticipates that Cupertino will accommodate its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) , as further described in the Housing Element, on 58 parcels referred to as Priority Housing Sites. The complete list of Priority Housing Sites is included in Appendix B- 4 of the General Plan2.
While the majority of the Priority Housing Sites are located on arterial roadways (e.g.
Stevens Creek Boulevard, De Anza Boulevard and Homestead Road), in order to
1 The Housing Element is available online at: www.cupertino.org/gp. 2 Priority Housing Sites Inventory available online at:
https://www.cupertino.gov/files/assets/city/v/1/departments/documents/community- development/planning/major-projects/housing-element-update/adopted-site-inventory-list-5-14-
24.pdf
Z-2024-001, Correcting Zoning of City Council
EA-2024-001 Priority Housing Site No. 24 February 19, 2025
satisfy the requirements of State law and comply with direction given by the Planning Commission and City Council to staff, during a series of meetings held in 2022, to have sites spread across the City, a few sites are located away from major corridors. 3 Given their location, these neighborhood Priority Housing Sites have lower densities than those adopted for the majority of sites located along arterials, which in most cases have a minimum allowed density of 50 dwelling units per acre (du/ac) or more.
In addition to the identification of the Priority Housing S ites, as part of the Housing Element update the City also made changes to the sites’ General Plan land use and zoning designations in order to be considered substantially compliant with State law housing law. The City completed the rezoning of the properties identified as Priority Housing Sites in July 2024 and received a letter indicating substantial compliance (and certification) of the Housing Element from the State Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) on September 4, 2024. However, after certification, staff identified an error in the zoning of one of the 58 Priority Housing Sites (Site No. 24 , located at 20865 McClellan Road ) and, accordingly, now recommends that the error be corrected to what was intended as part of the Housing Element update rezoning that occurred in July 2024.
Planning Commission Review:
The Planning Commission reviewed the subject zoning correction at its meeting on December 10, 2024 and adopted Resolution No. 2024 -15 with a 3- 2 (Madhdhipatla and Scharf: No) vote
4 recommending that the City Council adopt an ordinance to correct this typographical and Zoning Map error. Several community members spoke against correcting the rezoning error, citing a variety of reasons ranging from the perceived incompatibility of a townhome or multi-family development being built on the site in the future, increased traffic and traffic safety concerns, and concerns about the adequate availability of utilities. This action to correct the zoning error is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and CEQA Guidelines, as part of the City’s Housing Element compliance, as further discussed in the staff report, later; however, any future proposed developme nt project on the site would be reviewed independently on its own merits, in compliance with State law.
Discussion
Based on recent development patterns and discussions with residential developers, Priority Housing Sites with a density closer to 20 du/ac identified in the Housing Element
3 20865 McClellan (Jollyman-Faria neighborhood), Evulich Ct properties (10857-10887 Linda Vista Dr) (Monta Vista North), 20666 Cleo Ave and 0 Cleo Ave (Monta Vista South neighborhood), and 10231 Adriana Ave (Creston-Pharlap neighborhood).
4 Available online here:
https://records.cupertino.org/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=1148605&dbid=0&repo=CityofCupertino Z-2024-001, Correcting Zoning of City Council
EA-2024-001 Priority Housing Site No. 24 February 19, 2025
are likely to develop as townhomes. There are relatively few (17 of 58) Priority Housing Sites where development at (or around) 20 du/ac is possible. Historically, the City’s Planned Development (P) zoning district has act ed as a combining zoning designation , which allowed flexibility in zoning standards and a variety of housing types, including townhomes. However, in response to changes in state law limiting the ability of local jurisdictions to adopt and enforce planned development standards on an ad hoc basis , the City developed the Townhome (TH) combining district in conjunction with the Housing Element update. A combining district is a widely used land use tool where a district is created, in this case the TH district that may only be used in conjunction with a base zoning district to allow development flexibility. For Cupertino, the TH combining District may only be used in conjunction with either the R -3 or R -4 Residential base zoning district designations.
5 The Housing Element contemplated the rezoning of all the Priority Housing Sites with R-3 (multi-family) zoning to also have a combining TH (townhome) zoning designation to allow this flexibility in development. There are 13 other Priority Housing sites rezoned to R -3/TH; only 20865 McClellan (Priority Housing Site No. 24) was erroneously designated R-3 without the TH combining zoning (see Attachment 2).
The text in the adopted Housing Element describing Priority Housing Site No. 24 states:
“Site 24 is a 0.99- acre parcel located in the Jollyman Neighborhood, which is predominantly defined by single-family residential homes and located immediately south of the De Anza College campus and east of the Highway 85 corridor. Site 24 currently includes a single-family home built close to the McClellan Road right-of-way with a large rear yard. Neighboring uses include single- family housing. A developer has made contact with the City regarding the development of townhomes on this property since 2021, with continued interest for development in 2023.
The site has good access to amenities within 0.25 -0.5 miles of the site and has fair access to bus service at De Anza College. The improvement-land value ratio for this site is 0.02 so development is considered feasible.” (underline and emphasis added) (see Attachment 3) An inadvertent typographical error in Appendix B- 4 of the Housing Element identified this site to be rezoned as “R -3” only, instead of “R -3/TH”, causing an internal inconsistency between the General Plan and Municipal Code (see Attachment 2). The R- 3 zoning designation alone enables the development of multi- family housing, such as apartments, but could preclude future townhome development on the site, as originally
5 The TH combining district requires the same front setbacks as the underlying R -3 or R -4 zoning it is combined with, for purposes of urban streetscape consistency. In addition, rear and side yard setbacks are established to ensure adequate safety requirements are met. Basic design standards are also included as part of the zoning, such as requiring front stoops and entry features facing streets. Private open spaces are required in accordance with the underlying R -3 or R-4 zoning for all properties within the TH Combined District.
Z-2024-001, Correcting Zoning of City Council
EA-2024-001 Priority Housing Site No. 24 February 19, 2025
intended, consistent with the property owner’s request that the property be included in the Housing Element as a Priority Housing site allowing townhome development.
Since adoption of the Housing Element, t he developer has continued to be interested in the development of this property, specifically with townhomes, and has submitted a formal development application to the City, which is currently under review . This recommended rezoning action will correct the unintended zoning error, is necessary to maintain internal consistency within the text of the Housing Element and the zoning of the property, as required by Government Code section 65860, and allow s the type of development anticipated on the property since 2021 to proceed as intended.
Sustainability Impact
None.
Fiscal Impact
None.
City Work Program (CWP) Item
Housing Element Update.
CWP Item Description
Update Housing Element and complete rezoning. General Plan updates and EIR by December 2023.
Council Goal
Housing
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
On February 3, 2023, the California Housing Defense Fund and Yes in My Backyard (YIMBY) filed a lawsuit due to the City missing the January 31, 2023, deadline for adoption of the 6 th Cycle Housing Element. In January 2024, the City entered into a stipulated judgment to settle the lawsuit. As a result, pursuant to Government Code Section 65759 et seq., any actions that the City takes to adopt a compliant housing element, including rezoning actions to implement the Housing Element, are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
In lieu of CEQA compliance, Government Code section 65759 requires that an environmental assessment (EA) in the form of a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) be prepared and adopted as part of the General Plan. Accordingly, an EA was prepared and adopted by the City Council as Appendix G of the General Plan on May 14, 2024. It should also be noted that since there is no increase to the permitted density on the site with this rezoning action, there are no environmental impacts anticipated pursuant to Government Code section 15061(b)(3).
Z-2024-001, Correcting Zoning of City Council
EA-2024-001 Priority Housing Site No. 24 February 19, 2025
Prepared by: Piu Ghosh, Planning Manager
Luke Connolly, Assistant Director of Community Development Reviewed by: Benjamin Fu, Director of Community Development Approved for Submission: Pamela Wu, City Manager
Attachments:
A – Ordinance No. 25-XXXX
B – Table B4-7 of Housing Element
C – Excerpt from Table B4-8 of Housing Element related to Priority Site No. 24